Seasonal Variation in the Activity Patterns and Time Budgets of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Trachypithecus francoisi</Emphasis> in the Nonggang Nature Reserve,China

Activity patterns and time budgets are 2 important aspects of animal behavior that researchers use to investigate ecological influences on individual behavior. We collected data on activity patterns and time budgets in 1 group of François’ langurs (Trachypithecus francoisi) from August 2003 to July 2004 in the Nonggang Nature Reserve, Guangxi Province, China, via instantaneous scan sampling method with 15-min intervals. The diurnal activity pattern of François’ langurs showed morning and afternoon feeding peaks, with a midday resting peak. Seasonal change was apparent in the activity pattern: 2 significant feeding peaks occurred in the dry season and only 1 significant feeding peak in the rainy season. The group spent an average of 51.5% of the daytime resting. Feeding and moving accounted on average for 23.1% and 17.3% of the activity budget, respectively. Subjects spent little time on social activities, averaging 2% for grooming and 5.5% for playing. Their time budgets showed significant seasonal variation: they spent a greater proportion of time on feeding and less time on resting and grooming in the dry season than in the rainy season. They also differed among different sex-age classes: immatures spent more time playing, whereas adults devoted more time to resting, feeding, and grooming. Correlations between time budgets and food items or food availability clearly indicated that François’ langurs might adopt an energy-maximizing strategy when preferred foods were scarce in the dry season.     

Trigonid crests expression in Atapuerca-Sima de los Huesos lower molars: Internal and external morphological expression and evolutionary inferences

Trigonid crest patterning in lower molars is distinctive among Late Pleistocene hominins such as Homo neanderthalensis, fossil Homo sapiens and modern humans. In this paper, we present an examination of trigonid crest patterning in the Middle Pleistocene permanent lower molar sample (n = 62) of Homo heidelbergensis from Sima de los Huesos (SH). Crest expression was assessed from 3D models of the enamel and the dentine surfaces that were produced using micro-computed tomography (microCT). The aims of our analysis are to: 1) characterize the pattern of trigonid crest expression at the outer enamel and enamel-dentine junction surfaces (OES and EDJ) of the SH sample, 2) evaluate the concordance of expression between both surfaces, and 3) place trigonid crest variation in the SH sample into a phylogenetic context. Our results reveal a greater variability in the expression of trigonid crests at the EDJ (14 types) compared to the OES (4 types). Despite this variability, in almost all cases the expression of a continuous mid-trigonid or distal crest at the OES corresponds with the expression of a continuous mesial/mid-trigonid or distal trigonid crest, respectively, at the EDJ. Thus, it is possible to predict the type of trigonid crest pattern that would be at the OES in the case of partially worn teeth. Our study points to increased variability in trigonid crest expression in M₃s compared to M₁s and M₂s. Moreover, our analysis reveals that the SH sample matches broadly the trigonid crest patterns displayed by H. neanderthalensis and differs from those exhibited by H. sapiens, particularly in the almost constant expression of a continuous middle trigonid crest at the EDJ. However, SH hominins also exhibit patterns that have not been reported in H. neanderthalensis and H. sapiens samples. Other aspects of the variability of the trigonid crest expression at the dentine are presented and discussed.     

Detecting diel patterns in the songs of Chipping Sparrows using citizen-science data

Previous studies have revealed diel patterns in the songs of Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina), with songs shorter in duration before dawn than after. However, the extent to which this phenomenon generalizes to the full geographic range of these sparrows is unclear, as is the question of whether citizen-science data can be used to detect diel patterns in song. We analyzed all available songs of Chipping Sparrows from the Macaulay Library and xeno-canto databases and compared the distributions of song features of recordings made at different times of day. We show that, across their entire geographic range in North and Central America, Chipping Sparrows sing shorter songs before sunrise (dawn song) than after sunrise (day song). Furthermore, we show that Chipping Sparrows shorten their songs by singing fewer syllables, not by singing faster: the number of syllables per song accounts for the observed difference in duration, not the syllable nor the intersyllable duration. Our results demonstrate that recordings from public repositories can be used to determine whether daily song patterns exist in species even in the absence of prior fieldwork, and we further propose that citizen-science recordings can be used to inform cross-species hypotheses and facilitate future studies to determine whether diel patterns in song are associated with differences in social behavior.     

Morphometric analysis of the genusHemerocallis L. (Liliaceae) in Korea

To better understand the patterns of variability and distributions ofHemerocallis in Korea, 53 locations were visited and measurements of 19 morphological and phenological characters were taken on plants directly from their natural habitats. For morphometric analysis, 10 plants from each of 34 populations and five herbarium specimens ofH. middendorffii were used and the data from 12 quantitative characters was analyzed using univariate analysis. Except the littoral populations of Cheju, Hong, Taehuksan, and Sohuksan Islands (H. hongdoensis M. Chung & S. Kang), three peninsular KoreanHemerocallis species can be recognized mainly in South Korea:H. hakuunensis Nakai (=H. micrantha Nakai, growing on southern, central, and northwestern Korea);H. thunbergii Baker (=H. coreana Nakai, found on southeastern and central Korea); andH. middendorffii Tr. et Mey. (central and northeastern Korea). Morphological and phenological features contributing to recognition of the three groups were; color of perianth, shape of roots, shape of inflorescence, flowering time, odor, length of inflorescence, width of the lowest bracts, length of perianth tube enclosing a ovary, width of the inner perianth lobes. Natural hybridization seems to be rare in KoreanHemerocallis. It appears that the KoreanHemerocallis species are relatively well characterized by their distribution patterns, phenology, and habitats compared with the JapaneseHemerocallis species.     

Relations between apical structure and growth patterns in Pinus halepensis Mill,seedlings

Abstract

The process of primary growth in 2-year-old seedlings of 11 populations of Pinus halepensis Mill. is described. At the end of the first growing season one type of apical structure was observed: type-1, a tuft of primary needles placed close together, surrounding and protecting a meristematic apex.

At the end of the 2nd growing season, three types of apical structure were observed: type-1; type-2, a terminal winter bud; and type-3; a «bud» with characteristics of both type-1 and type-2.

Morphological observation along with an anatomical examination of the winter bud led to the conclusion that the definitive growth pattern in juvenile P. halepensis is monocyclic with a variable number of summer shoots. This growth pattern is reached by some P. halepensis populations in 3–4 years, by contrast, in other pine species two years are usually needed.

The populations studied differed both in growth potential (differences in number of cycles, ratio of first cycle to total growth, growth rates) and in the developmental stages of the apical meristem.

Four groups could be identified: (i) Morocco and Spain, (a limited growth, few cycles, a high ratio of 1st cycle to total growth, and growth in 2nd season almost entirely due to free growth); (ii) Algeria and Greece, (moderate to low growth, a large number of cycles, a low ratio of 1st cycle to total growth, and very early formation of apical structure with preformed primordia); (iii) Israel and Central Italy (a high growth, a large number of cycles, a medium ratio of 1st cycle to total growth, and early formation of apical structure with preformed primordia); (iiii) Greece, France and Italy, which was intermediate between group (i) and the other 2 groups.     

Microhabitat selection in intertidal gobiid fishes: Species- and size-associated variation

Patterns of space use and the individual-based behaviour of microhabitat selection were investigated in three intertidal gobiid fishes, Bathygobius fuscus, Chaenogobius annularis and C. gulosus, from Kyushu, southern Japan. While the three species tended to occupy slightly different types of tidepool, their patterns of distribution largely overlapped in the field. Laboratory experiments involving choice of shelter (i.e. underneath a stone plate) and four different substrate types were conducted to examine size- and time-related variation in habitat selection. The shelter area was preferred by small- and large-sized C. gulosus (day and night), large C. annularis (day and night) and small C. annularis (daytime only), while no preference was evident in small B. fuscus (day and night) and small C. annularis (night). Patterns of substrate choice also differed among species, size groups and between day and night. Size differences in substrate use were evident in B. fuscus and C. gulosus but not in C. annularis, while diel differences were shown by all species groups except large B. fuscus. The gravel and sand substrates tended to be used more frequently than the bare rock substrate, but the strength of preference of a particular substrate type varied among individuals/species. Our results demonstrate that habitat selection by the three gobiid species is variable depending on species, body size and time of day, which must ultimately bear upon mitigating intra-/interspecific interactions in tidepool environments.     

Flavonoid pattern and systematics of the genus Leucocyclus

The flavonoid pattern of the monotypic Turkish genus Leucocyclus consists of C-glycosylflavones (isovitexin; isoorientin and derivatives; several di-C-glycosylapigenins; schaftoside, isoschaftoside and vicenin-3; lucenin-2), of flavonol 3-O-glycosides (quercetin and kaempferol 3-O-rhamnoglucoside) and trace amounts of luteolin 7-O-rhamnoglucoside. The systematic significance of the flavonoid diversification within Leucocyclus as well as possible relationships to other genera of the Anthemideae are discussed.     

Associations between climate stress and coral reef diversity in the western Indian Ocean

Climatic–oceanographic stress and coral reef diversity were mapped in the western Indian Ocean (WIO) in order to determine if there were associations between high diversity coral reefs and regions with low‐to‐moderate climate stress. A multivariate stress model developed to estimate environmental exposure to stress, an empirical index of the coral community's susceptibility to stress, and field data on numbers of fish and corals taxa from 197 WIO sites were overlain to evaluate these associations. Exposure to stress was modeled from satellite data based on nine geophysical–biological oceanographic characteristics known to influence coral bleaching (i.e. temperature, light, and current variables). The environmental stress model and the coral community's susceptibility index were moderately correlated (r=?0.51) with southern and eastern parts of the WIO identified as areas with low environmental stress and coral communities with greater dominance of bleaching stress‐sensitive taxa. Numbers of coral and fish taxa were positive and moderately correlated (r=0.47) but high diversity regions for fish were in the north and west while diversity was highest for corals in central regions from Tanzania to northwestern Madagascar. Combining three and four of these variables into composite maps identified a region from southern Kenya to northern Mozambique across to northern–eastern Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands and the Mozambique–South Africa border as areas where low‐moderate environmental exposure overlaps with moderate‐high taxonomic diversity. In these areas management efforts aimed at maintaining high‐diversity and intact ecosystems are considered least likely to be undermined by climate disturbances in the near term. Reducing additional human disturbances, such as fishing and pollution, in these areas is expected to improve the chances for their persistence. These reefs are considered a high priority for increased local, national, and international management efforts aimed at establishing coral reef refugia for climate change impacts.     

区域水安全格局构建:研究进展及概念框架

随着全球变化背景下生态安全问题的日益严峻,生态安全格局研究成为宏观生态学关注的热点领域;水作为重要的自然生态要素,其安全格局的构建也是区域生态安全格局优化的重要组成部分,但目前其基本内涵、构建理论与方法、指标体系等尚未受到足够重视,缺乏系统梳理。在对比分析资源、环境与灾害等多学科视角下水安全概念异同的基础上,明晰了区域水安全格局的概念内涵,将其定义为保障区域水安全目标的土地利用空间格局;系统探讨了水安全格局构建历程与方法研究进展,指出水安全研究正由定量评价向空间管控转型,水环境安全格局构建严重滞后,缺乏水安全格局与自然生态过程、社会经济过程的耦合关联分析;最后,基于景观生态学格局-过程互馈理论和地理学区域综合视角,以GIS空间分析、In VEST模型等为技术支撑,构建了水资源安全、水环境安全和水灾害规避安全3个单一维度的水安全格局,并提出基于空间多准则分析模型的区域综合水安全格局构建概念框架,以期有效提升中国城市化进程的水安全格局保障。